Bulgarian musician Daniel Stoyanov, known by his artistic pseudonym Bulgarian Cartrader, is among the five winners of the Music Moves Europe Awards (2024), the artist’s team announced.
The prizes were awarded on the evening of 18 January, in Groningen, the Netherlands. The Grand Jury Prize and the MME Public Choice Award goes to France’s Zaha de Sagazan. According to the jury she is „a really strong artist with a unique, personal style and talent“. Others to win awards were Bulgarian Cartrader from Bulgaria – „his music is excellent – so warm, standing out with a beautiful voice and strong presence“, Giift from Denmark – „what talent, what a voice, this is something really special“, Yune Pinku from Ireland – „it’s great, he’s not afraid to experiment, super creative“, Freekind from Slovenia – „I love absolutely everything from Freekind, their music is like a big hug, so dreamy“, and Ralfi Chuu from Spain – „he has a unique artistic style with excellent production and rhythm“.
The six finalists receive €10,000 each and the winner of the Grand Jury Prize receives an additional €5,000 tour voucher. Zacho de Sagazan wins the MME Choice Award (2024), which will bring her an additional €5,000.
The Music Moves Europe Awards (MME Awards) are the European Union’s prize for emerging artists who represent the European music sound of today and tomorrow. Their aim is to accelerate the international careers of emerging European artists. Former winners of the prestigious awards include Stromay, Alona Alona, The Haunted Youth, Dua Lipa, San Soucie, Hoosier, Meskerem Mees, Christine and the Queens.
Following the awards ceremony, all fifteen nominees performed for music professionals and music lovers at ESNS, an annual music showcase festival and conference held in January in Groningen. All nominees and their teams, as well as many young music industry professionals, are invited to join the MME training programme on Wednesday. Topics this year include how to maintain mental health while on tour, tips for „going green“ on tour and more. Two MME Awards nominees have been invited to record a Deezer Session.
The independent MME Awards jury is made up of five people who have earned an outstanding reputation and respect in the music industry over the years. They are Gemma Bradley (BBC Radio Ireland), Cindy Castillo (MadCool Festival), Kevin Cole (KEXP) and Brian Johnson (Spotify). Each year, the MME Choice Award winner (2024) from the previous year joins the judging panel. This year, it was Jerry Heil from Ukraine.
